Criminal Responsibility in Individuals with Dissociative...

A significant and controversial issue within the legal system is the ‘insanity defense’ in which during a criminal trial, the defendant will make a claim that they are not guilty by reason of insanity, or in other words, they have deficient and impaired cognitive and mental capabilities. These mental health problems associated with insanity are caused by psychopathological disorders, which may have led to their dysfunction. What separates this from a regular plead of ‘diminished capacity’ is that a plea of insanity is a full defense rather than just a partial defense (Legal information institute, n.d.). With the diminished capacity defense, the defendant’s mental competence is still the focus, although they are pleading to a lesser crime†¦show more content†¦Though the individual may or may not be aware that the other personalities exist, they will have knowledge of their amnesic episodes because of the gap in their memories in which they had no awareness. Despite the extremely rare occurrence of DID, because of its unique characteristics, it is well-known in society through many of its portrayals in media. A famous example is the novella, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, written by Robert Louis Stevenson, which portrays a character possessing two distinct personalities that are in conflict, one that is evil and the other that is good. Because of the increased interest in DID generated by Jekyll and Hyde, the split personality seen within this character has become almost symbolic of the multiple personalities seen in DID. There have been many other instances where multiple personalities have been portrayed in popular culture. It can become quite exaggerated at times concerning the symptoms and how the disorder develops in the first place, but there is an underlying truth behind how serious of an illness it can be. If there’s one thing Hollywood and popular media hasShow MoreRelatedThe Doubles Creation as a Necessary Anti-Hero Essay2045 Words   |  9 Pagesrelation to my novel and character selection I intend to discuss dissociative fugue (a result of dissociative identity disorder) as well as the concept of psychological projecting. The biggest issue I will encounter with the application of this psychological viewpoint is the formulation of a convincing argument that my two characters posses this disorder and practice this defense mechanism respectively. Through extensive research of dissociative fugue and the projection defense mechanism as well as in-depthRead MoreVictims Of Mental Illnesses And Personality Disorders987 Words   |  4 Pages In the past, victims of mental illness have continued to be exploited, abused, and stigmatized. 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